The ink stone is carved with two dragons striding amidst scrolling clouds in pursuit of a flaming pearl, which encloses four characters, guxi tianzi ('seventy-year-old Son of Heaven'), all above of a recessed grinding surface framed on three sides with a pair of finely incised archaistic dragons. The reverse is finely carved in high relief with a luohan seated against a tree holding a fan. The sides are inscribed with The Heart Sutra, a Qianlong date corresponding to 1791, andchen Dong Gao mu shou jing shu ('respectfully carved by your servant Dong Gao').
8 3/8 in. (21.3 cm.) long, jade-inset hongmu box

Mayuyama & Co., Tokyo, 1960s and thence by descent within the family
Property from a private Japanese collection; Sold at Christie’s New York, 17-18 September 2015, lot 2058

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Dong Gao (1740-1818) was the son of Dong Bangda (1699-1769) and took his jinshi degree in 1763. A noted and high-ranking government official, he served the Qianlong and Jiaqing Emperors for more than four decades. He held numerous illustrious posts and supervised the compilation of several imperial histories and anthologies. The emperors also prized Dong Gao's calligraphy and paintings, many of which are included in the Palace collection.